The present invention relates generally to headliners and a method of installing a headliner. More particularly, the present invention relates to headliners for vehicles, containers, or the like including, but not limited to, boats, cars, trucks, vans, trains, planes and cages, as each of these containers includes upwardly extending concave surfaces. The present invention also discloses a method for installing the headliner assembly of the present invention. The invention and method of installation are adaptable for a variety of uses.
Handicapped people in wheelchairs need extra headroom in transport vans so that their heads do not touch the roof. Consequently, traditional, standard-sized automotive vans must be converted into handicapped, wheelchair accessible vans by raising the roof. A conversion company removes the top of the van and secures a pre-made camper or conversion van top thereon. Thereafter, a headliner is installed into the camper top.
The use of headliner systems is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,207 is presented as an interior covering for automobile vehicles, containers, or the like that is a molded laminate structure. The interior covering of U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,207 consists of at least two sheets of cross-linked polyethylene foam. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,866,235 and 5,660,778 disclose methods of producing fibers and structures that may be utilized in the manufacture of interior trim headliner substrate. The advantages of the headliner substrates presented in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,020,207 and 5,866,235 and 5,660,778 may be offset by the necessity of financing the implementation of particular chemical manufacturing processes and molds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,702 discloses a self-supporting molded component for lining the inside of an automobile. The component has a layered construction of polyethylene foam panels with projections such as nubs, ribs or wedges that are integrally molded to the component and function as reinforcing inserts to ease installation of the headliner into an automobile. Effective utilization of the molded component of U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,702 may require costly changes in the design of automobiles because the projections must be locked or clamped into corresponding elements of an automobile roof, which may require design and manufacturing changes in an automobile roof. Also, because installation requires each projection to be locked or clamped into a corresponding element, the relative ease of installation is not clear.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,832 discloses an automobile headliner which is formed from a batt of polymeric fibers compressed and molded into a predetermined contoured shape. The headliner is secured to the automobile roof using fastener strips of the hook-loop type. The substantial degree of flexibility in the headliner of U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,832 increases the difficulty of installation and brings to question the extent of resilience over time.
Attempts to produce a headliner that is self-supporting have resulted in the development of various types of substrates. However, these attempts, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,207 (Alfter, et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,702 (Alfter, et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,883 (Gerring), U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,832 (Weiple, et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,903 (Bainbridge, et al.), in their preferred embodiments, are not completely self-supporting and require some type of reinforcing supports. In fact, such support may be inadequate and/or may cause the headliner to be heavy, awkward to install, time consuming to install and expensive.
There continues to be a need for a headliner that is light-weight, manufactured from readily available materials, easy to install, quick to install, adequately supported, attractive and inexpensive. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary headliner for a vehicle, a transportation container or some other concave surface in an inexpensive manner, without the necessity of purchasing a mold, vacuum or gravity, or otherwise. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a headliner assembly that is semi-rigid and semi-flexible to facilitate easy installation and provide adequate support such that the shape and attractiveness of the headliner assembly are maintained for all upwardly extending concave surfaces, as well as unfinished two-dimensional surfaces.
In addition, it is a further object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive headliner assembly that can be easily produced from readily available materials such that specially designed tools, machines and materials are not required for production of the present invention, and one that may be easily installed and does not require costly changes in the design of automobiles.
The present invention incorporates a unitary headliner piece that can be made into an appropriate shape to fit the three or four different xe2x80x9cpop-upxe2x80x9d van tops currently widely used in the conversion van market. The present invention alleviates the high labor cost associated with van conversion, and makes installation of a headliner a quick and easy operation. GLAVAL Corporation of Elkhart, Ind., appears to be the largest van conversion company in the United States, and that company utilizes the old method of cutting one-quarter inch plywood or underlayment and fitting into the camper xe2x80x9cpop-upxe2x80x9d van top and then carpeting over it.
The present invention relates to a headliner assembly for the underside of a vehicle roof. The headliner assembly of the present invention includes a headliner piece that has a resilient semi-flexible substrate, the substrate having integrally hinged side sections that are formed when the substrate is bent. Additionally, described herein is a method for manufacturing and installing the headliner assembly.
To overcome the above-noted problems, the present invention is brought forth. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the above-stated objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention, are addressed as follows. The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the appendant drawings.